I am into a recent release titled: Heavens And Earth, subtitle; The scientific search for the afterlife, immortality, and Utopia. Author Michael Shermer. SHermer needs no introduction to the atheist contingent. He is an accomplished writer and researcher into such things as this book addresses. So far I am impressed with the quality of the content.

I'm reading some very old science fiction stories written by Henry Kuttner. I just finished Mutant, a great read.

I remember reading that when I was a teenager, and loved it. I'd borrowed it from the library but when I wanted to check it out again I couldn't remember either the name of the book or of the author, and when I described the story no one had any idea what I was taking about. Now I can put it on my wish list at ThriftBooks.

(correction: I'll have to put it on my Amazon wish list, both TB's copies are out of stock)

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Sandy

"I think this is the prettiest world -- as long as you don't mind a little dying, how could there be a day in your whole life that doesn't have its splash of happiness?" from The Kingfisher, by Mary Oliver

Fall of Man in Wilmslow by David Lagercrantz. This is a fictional treatment of the investigation from a policeman’s POV into the death of Alan Turing in 1954. The homophobic language is just what I remember from the seventies; it was still rife and widely acceptable well after the 1967 Act. The main protagonist, the investigating officer, is not a nice person, but apparently he becomes more understanding and admiring as the story develops as he gets to ‘know’ Turing and gains a rudimentary understanding of the ‘thinking machine’. It isn’t comfortable reading at the moment, but i’m Not halfway yet.

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ESs Rational arguments don't usually work on religious people; otherwise there would be no religious people. House MD

When you have two options, sometimes flipping a coin can help you figure out which one you want to read first. It helps you become aware of things, like when flipping the coin results in an option and you think to yourself, 'Nah, actually I want the other one.'. You didn't know you wanted the other option until that blasted coin chose the wrong book.

I hope I'm making sense. It's like you're gaining access to a decision that's already been made. I use this method whenever I can't decide between two options, then I decide on the spot whether I accept the coin's 'choice' or not. But hey, I'm a little weird.

That is deja vou for me Silver. Flipping a coin is sometimes a revealing exercise.

Isn't it? We should write a self-help book together, we could spout all sorts of scientifically-sounding BS and it'll sell like water! Deepak Chopra does it, so can we!

If I may I would suggest we title it Flipping a coin: When you've decided but don't know it! or perhaps something a little drier such as Coin flipping as a method to probe subconscious decisions: Implications for free will.

I just finished "Abraham Lincoln- Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith. The book operates under the premise that most of the main events of ole Abe's life were influenced by vampires and that the Civil War was actually orchestrated by vampires. Abraham Lincoln was trained to kill vampires (by another vampire) and secretly did so through much of his life.It was obviously fiction, but fun to read about the civil war and Lincoln's life events through a different set of eyes. Now I can see the movie!

I just finished "Abraham Lincoln- Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith. The book operates under the premise that most of the main events of ole Abe's life were influenced by vampires and that the Civil War was actually orchestrated by vampires. Abraham Lincoln was trained to kill vampires (by another vampire) and secretly did so through much of his life.It was obviously fiction, but fun to read about the civil war and Lincoln's life events through a different set of eyes. Now I can see the movie!

I like vampire movies (even the bad ones) so I wanted to watch that movie but nobody wanted to go with me. If I remember correctly, it was in theatres for a short period of time -- usually a bad sign.